NOVEL WEB Chapter 49: Mark of Gore
Though Kieran understood that this man before him was Scar's master, he couldn't help but analyze what he saw, marveling over the power that he couldn't sense but knew was there.
After the portal was forcibly expanded, this man's aura completely vanished, leaving one to believe that he was nothing more than an ordinary person. However, those battle-hardened and stoic eyes—their subtle piercing crimson glow—painted a distinctly different picture.
Gone from Kieran's mind was the impression that this man was even remotely harmless as the lack of aura implied.
To Kieran, even this man's hair, which resembled the flowing mane of a mighty lion, told a story. Though predominantly black in color, Kieran noticed an iridescent shade of red that saturated the end of this man's hair, as if it were bathed in the blood of untold fallen enemies.
The first notion that popped into Kieran's mind was unhinged. Those stoic eyes held a madness that made Kieran's blood freeze, thaw and curdle.
'Is this fear?' Kieran asked himself.
If so, such a reaction was reasonable. After all, this man stood at the epitome of anything Kieran had experienced thus far.
Seconds after this man appeared, an indomitable pressure bore down on Kieran's body, threatening to bring him to the ground in subservience.
Though, shockingly, this pressure did not come from the man.
Kieran noticed that embedded within the pressure was a sharp presence. Consequently, Kieran's eyes were drawn to the closing portal, specifically the power that returned to this man's body.
'Reabsorbing energy can create such an absurd phenomenon?' Kieran inwardly muttered, his eyes rattling in disbelief.
"So… you're the new attempt my runt has mustered?" the man questioned, circling Kieran's body with a judging gaze.
As if he were in the presence of a titan, Kieran could only stand ramrod straight and poorly follow this man's movement.
One could easily tell that this was a rhetorical question. After all, Kieran wouldn't have been here, if not for Scar giving him the quest. As Kieran considered whether he should answer, the man's expression suddenly lit up after inhaling.
'What an alluring scent. I'm sure my boy is unaware of what he has sent my way. Still, this is not enough to pass him. Affinity is not the only thing that matters.'
"That would be me." Kieran nodded while releasing a relieved sigh.
〈System: Meet with the original wielder. 1/1 (COMPLETE!)〉
"Normally, your condition would be nowhere near passable, but… my privileged runt has pleaded that we try a different approach with this attempt. Let's see what you've got. Come with me."
"Into the Wildes, right?"
The man looked at Kieran with a cocked brow. "Obviously? Where else would I be taking you? Unless… is the thought of you entering that place stimulating an urge to release your bodily fluids? Are you scared?"
"Scared? Fear is natural… but I don't intend to turn back. I'll just have to deal with what's in front of me," Kieran countered.
"Heh, that's some audacity and bravado you've got there. I guess I like it. I just hope it's not empty. An empty True Berserker would be nothing more than a failure."
"I see. Well… I can't enter the Wildes with my current body. I'll quite literally die from the deathly energies," Kieran reminded the man.
As a result, the opposing side's lip turned up. "I forgot how weak the human vessel is during the beginning stages of its journey. Well, whatever."
Whoosh!
In an instant, a gust of crimson wind surrounded Kieran's body, soon turning into a bleeding tempest as it swirled around him. A liquid resembling blood then attached to his body at odd points.
Those points then ultimately formed a kind of diagram that seemingly vanished into thin air a moment later.
〈System: You have been marked with the Mark of Gore, gaining «Agrianos' Protection».〉
〈System: The Mark of Gore has temporarily granted you access to the «Ancient Crimson Aegis»!〉
〈System: Until the Ancient Crimson Aegis dissipates, you will be immune to all environmental damage.〉
'A protective technique? Should a battle-oriented class have access to something like this? Impressive…' Kieran murmured. 'Also, Agrianos, was it? Is that this man's name?'
Agrianos gave Kieran a sidelong glare while subtly shaking his head. "If I'm satisfied with the evaluation, you'll continue to have my protection. But that will change the moment you disappoint. You'll be forced to test your luck with the Wildes at that time. Is that understood?"
"Completely." Kieran gulped, understanding this could mean immediate death for him.
Failure simply wasn't an option.
"Follow me," Agrianos ordered.
Reveling in the feeling of the Mark of Gore for a moment, Kieran stared at the thin crimson film covering his body. Once the marvel subsided, Kieran quickly followed behind Agrianos.
He was met with a few notifications when he stepped across the Wildes' border.
〈System: You have entered the «Wildes, Home of the Maddened»!〉
〈System: You are the first to enter the forbidden land!〉
〈System: Because of the nature of your visit and the assistance you've received, you haven't completed the criteria to claim the discovery reward.〉
'Oh? I suppose that's understandable. Though… it would have been better if the game system exploited this quest's advantages for me. Then again, I suppose this opportunity is remarkable by itself,' Kieran shrugged.
Agrianos walked forward aimlessly, occasionally shifting his eyes amidst the dense, chaotic, and unwelcoming energies that formed the environment of the Wildes. At times, his eyes seemed to sweep back toward a particular place, an unusual emotion sparking within his gaze.
'So they've appeared… driven by the mind-altering energies that tend to leak in this place,' Agrianos thought.
Given his discovery, Agrianos lifted his hand, his palm facing forward until he subtly twisted it down, as if preparing to grab something.
Soon, a crimson spark ignited in the vacant space between his fingers, flashes of menacing energies accompanying it. The energies collided, producing a surge of dreadful energy that toppled the chaotic energies of the Wildes.
From within the blaze of glorious yet frightening flames of dread came a magnificent greatsword with an edge so sharp, it seemed prepared to cut the world in half. Adorned with mesmerizing engravings, seemingly that of ancient runes meant to bolster the weapon's magnificence, Agrianos' large hand took up half of the lengthy hilt.
The crimson markings running along the silver blade seemed to come alive once Agrianos tightened his fist. The guard was clearly created to resemble the horns of a mighty demon, but nestled in the center of this webbing of "horns" was a gem.
The gem was predominantly crimson, but deep incandescent yellow and orange colors formed blurred rings around a purplish-black vertical slit reminiscent of a reptilian's elliptical pupils.
This made Kieran believe he was looking into the eyes of a crystallized demon of sorts.
A truly matchless weapon. One far beyond anything Kieran had ever witnessed.
After drawing his weapon, Agrianos rested it upon his shoulder, sharply turning his head to the left. As it looked, he sensed an extraordinarily fast-approaching presence, making his lips curl up into a slightly vicious smile.
While Kieran noticed this action from Agrianos, he didn't perceive anything approaching his surroundings.
Let alone rely upon his Perception attribute, he could barely rely upon his natural senses to assist him in this strange and unforgiving environment.
As a result, Kieran couldn't feel that subtle rumble, which originated from the presence of approaching colossal and mighty steps.
However, the Wildes' usual occurrences also shouldered some blame for Kieran's ignorance. It was home to frequent explosions, territorial battles of a cataclysmic scale, as well as grand disturbances.
What's more, after entering the Wildes, Kieran's Retaliatory Sense entered a permanently active state—a clear indication that danger surrounded him everywhere.
It was inescapable.
Without Agrianos' intervention, survival was impossible!
"Hey, kid," Agrianos suddenly said, briefly glancing over his shoulder. Before awaiting Kieran's response, he continued, "You've entered a genuinely unsafe environment, a place scarred by the annals of history. You must understand that everything you're about to see… is something a True Berserker can not avoid."
Seconds later, a huge outline with glimmering evil eyes shone from within the dense murkiness, capable of obfuscating most of Kieran's senses.
Most people would dread being in such an environment, but Agrianos remained unperturbed, even revealing slight signs of amusement.
Not long after, his arm tensed, and the many complex muscles contained in it flexed as Agrianos brought his weapon down and executed a casual upward slash.
A vast fissure opened in the earth, but this wasn't the highlight of his action. Once his blade met a surface, the murkiness within a decent radius blew away, giving the impression that it was never there.
With his visibility restored, Kieran caught a glimpse of what Agrianos retaliated against.
An enormous paw wreathed in deathly flames so hot, it scorched the ground and left flaming footprints pressed against the blade. Despite the unimaginable heat emanating from the paw, Agrianos' weapon remained unaffected.
The lion's coat matched the color of soot leftover from a raging flame burning for ages.
Though, what made Kieran truly gawk in awe was the size of this beast!
Even though Agrianos, who was practically a monster himself, stood at 3 meters tall with a hulking figure, he looked like an ant before the lion's 15-meter frame! Just the lion's paw dwarfed Agrianos' body!
The size difference was baffling, absurd even. Yet, Agrianos' blade was unrelenting, barring the lion's paw from moving even an inch.
Amidst the madness, Kieran found Agrianos' relaxed expression to be the most bizarre matter.
Even before the lion's frighteningly large teeth, comparable to the size of his weapon, Agrianos grinned.
Bang!
Retracting his weapon, Agrianos moved faster than Kieran could comprehend, whipping out his leg so fast it didn't leave any blurs or streaks.
It was as if Agrianos' body teleported from point A to point B!
In response, the lion was sent flying back, colliding with a large rocky protrusion, leaving a pile of freshly made debris.
"Oversized kitty cats never really amount to much, but… I suppose I should show you a glimpse of your potential future. A future saturated in torrents of blood, remnants of razing conflagrations and endless cacophonies of your victims' screams."
"I will show you… a True Berserker's basic form."